Denver Broncos Resemble 1994 San Francisco 49ers

The 2014 Denver Broncos are beginning to look a lot like the 1994 San Francisco 49ers. They are a legitimate Super Bowl contender spending big to keep a shrinking window of opportunity from creaking shut.

The Broncos chased the headlines on the first day of free agency and certainly made them. They spent huge money to fix a pass defense that ranked 27th in 2013.

Denver inked mega-bucks deals for safety T.J. Ward and cornerback Aqib Talib. Both contracts were on the steep side to say the least.

ESPN reporter Adam Schefter first broke the news about Talib:

That is a hefty amount of guaranteed money for a cornerback. In fact, as Boston Globe writer Ben Volin points out, it's the highest ever:

The eye-watering contract awarded to Talib followed the deal to pry Ward away from the Cleveland Browns, which was reported by NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport:

Although Ward is not as quite as marquee at his position as Talib, the money given to him is no less staggering, as Denver Post reporter Mike Klis pointed out:

If an aging team that has fallen short in the Super Bowl race over the last two years spending big to bridge the gap sounds familiar, it should. It is exactly the same formula the 49ers used 20 years ago.

The Broncos have identified their secondary as their chief weak point and pulled out all the stops to fix it. The 49ers did the same to their whole defense in '94.

While the Broncos are coming off a humiliating Super Bowl battering by the Seattle Seahawks, the 49ers were recovering from consecutive defeats to the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC title game.

A leaky defense was identified as the main culprit, prompting an alarming spending spree to essentially buy a Lombardi Trophy.

San Francisco showed the money to linebackers Ken Norton Jr. and Gary Plummer. They followed that by handing Deion Sanders, easily the best cornerback of his day, enough dollar notes to swim in.

The 49ers didn't want to waste their Super Bowl window. Just like today's Broncos, San Francisco had an abundance of talent at the skill positions, but some of the players were starting to age.

Quarterback Steve Young, wide receivers John Taylor and Jerry Rice, and tight end Brent Jones were still good enough to outscore anyone.

The 49ers knew their offense was still good enough to get them to the league's finishing line, but they also knew the prolific unit couldn't get the team over that line by itself.

Despite what happened against the Seahawks, the Denver offense is still just as potent as last season's record-setting model.

Peyton Manning might be a year older, but he remains the most dominant quarterback in the NFL. Wide receivers Demaryius Thomas and Wes Welker, as well as tight end Julius Thomas, are a match for any defense.

But just like the 49ers in '94, the Broncos don't want to waste their offense before their Super Bowl window shuts. So expect them to continue stockpiling defensive veterans who can help them win now.

According to NFL Media reporter Albert Breer, next in line is recently released DeMarcus Ware:

When healthy, Ware is still the premier pass-rusher of his generation. However, Denver's bid to sign him has shades of the 49ers recruiting greybeard pass-rushers Ricky Jackson, Richard Dent and Charles Mann two decades ago.

Ware is 31 and just labored through a season undermined by a nagging back problem. The Broncos are betting big that he has enough left in the tank to turn the clock back to his glory days—at least for a season.